4 Building Community in Online Learning

Guiding Intercultural Discussions

Karkar Esperat (2018) found that the lack of faculty participation and communication in their online classes leads to international students feeling isolated. It is crucial for students to have faculty who actively engage in their online classes. Faculty should be participants in the class by facilitating discussion forums and other interactions among students (Karkar Esperat, 2018). In a study conducted by Chen et al. (2008), a student shared that a more active role taken by her faculty in facilitating interaction and participation within the online course would have significantly impacted her overall learning experience. Not only do faculty need to be actively participating and communicating in their online classes, but they also need to be facilitators of online course engagement and peer interaction.

Online faculty have a social responsibility to build a community in their online classes by facilitating group work and other peer interactions (Karkar Esperat, 2022). Many international students want a sense of community which can be challenging to achieve in online courses. However, with proper facilitation faculty can create a sense of community and engagement among their students. It is also essential that faculty create a culturally inclusive learning environment through cross-cultural collaborative learning strategies. This will not only foster a better online learning environment for international students, but domestic students as well. Online courses with diverse learners are advantageous, allowing participants to broaden their perspectives and views by learning from others with different backgrounds. Faculty play an important role in ensuring that cross-cultural collaboration among learners occurs in a positive and inclusive environment.

The faculty’s role stands as the most influential factor in determining the success of international students in online classes. Online course faculty need to provide timely responses and quality feedback to students, actively participate in the course, and foster cross cultural and peer interactions to ensure student learning. Research indicates that international students in online courses tend to fixate “on the faculty and what the faculty did and did not do in the class since the faculty is the most important aspect of the course” (Kung, 2017, p. 484). Additional research supports the theory that international student satisfaction and success in online courses is positively influenced when faculty use online pedagogy, provide guided instruction, are active in their courses, give students quality feedback, and facilitate peer collaboration (Karkar Esperat, 2022). This demonstrates the significant role the faculty plays in online learning for international students.

Encouraging Active Student Interaction

International students are more likely than American students to want to build learning communities in their educational pursuits. When international students from other countries come to study in the U.S., and take online classes, they can often feel isolated. Engaging in peer collaboration and interaction within their online classes can assist in making them feel connected and satisfied in their academic endeavors. Faculty play a vital role in fostering peer-to-peer and cross-cultural interaction through the activities they include and the facilitation they provide during their online courses. However, there can still be challenges in building collaborative learning environments including cultural and time zone differences.

Cultural differences can significantly impact peer collaboration in online learning. Research indicates that students from Eastern cultures tend to be less outspoken, more reserved, and less independent (Wang & Reeves, 2007; Kung, 2017). In group work this can be a challenge as American students may assume more leadership roles, delegate tasks, or take on a larger portion of the assignment. This would be disadvantageous to international learners who may suffer from less learning of the content as a result. Additionally, Chen et al. (2008) found that Western learners can also come off as “cold” during peer interactions because they tend to focus more on the task than on the interpersonal relationships.

While group work can present challenges, it also leads to broaden perspectives, higher levels of engagement, increased motivation, and friendship for both international and domestic students in online courses. Another obstacle for peer collaboration in online learning is time zone differences. With students accessing online education from various parts of the world, time zone differences can result in delayed responses during group work activities. While asynchronous online learning can make it easier for students studying in different time zones, synchronous online learning has been found to be better at fostering peer collaboration and interaction (Liu, et al., 2010).

There can be challenges in peer-to-peer collaboration and interaction; however, the benefits outweigh these obstacles. According to Kung (2017), peer collaboration can help build confidence in international students as it allows them to realize that fellow students are experiencing similar challenges in adapting to a new culture and learning environment. A lack of a learning community in online courses can be a barrier to international student satisfaction and success. However, implementing appropriate strategies to cultivate a collaborative culturally inclusive online learning environment can not only address this issue, but also lead to increases international student satisfaction, engagement, motivation, and learning.

Building Your Online Community

Many online instructors find it challenging to create a sense of community within their online classes. However, by fostering community, learners experience higher levels of motivation, engagement, and overall learning. Here are a few strategies you can use to build your online community:

1. Recognize Community Building as Continuous: Community building is not a one-time occurrence; it is a continuous process. Incorporate regular opportunities for connection and reflection throughout your course by individually checking in with your learners, engaging in group discussions, hosting live virtual office hours, or using other frequent engagement strategies.
2. Tailor Community Building to Learner Demographics: Adapt your approach based on your audience. As previously mentioned, understanding the cultural and educational backgrounds of your students is important, as relationship dynamics may vary significantly across cultures.
3. Support Different Types of Relationships: Recognize the different types of relationships that occur in your online classes, including instructor-to-student, student-to-student, and student-to-self. To foster instructor-student interactions, create trust by being accessible and empathetic, and create personalized interactions whenever possible. For student-to-student interactions, encourage peer engagement through group work, discussion forums, peer feedback, or other collaboration methods. Lastly, for student-to-self interactions, encourage self-reflection.
4. Establish Expectations Early: Set clear expectations for communication, participation, and collaboration early in the course, and model the behavior you expect by being consistent, timely, and respectful in your interactions.
5. Be Flexible and Inclusive: Recognize that online learners and international learners face unique challenges. Be flexible when possible, considering that your students may be in different time zones, have varying technology access, accessibility needs, or face other life challenges.
6. Provide Learner Autonomy: Online and international students often value independence. As mentioned previously, offer students autonomy in how they engage with the course and the online community.
7. Use Learners’ Preferred Names: International and American students may have preferred names different from their legal name. In some cultures, students may feel more comfortable choosing an American or different name for class. Allow them the flexibility to select the name they prefer and use this as their name throughout the course.
8. Be Genuine: Authenticity is crucial in building community. Make sure your communication aligns with your personality and teaching style. If humor comes naturally to you, embrace it. If not, find other ways to connect with students that feels more genuine to who you are.
9. Embrace Feedback: Seek feedback from your learners throughout the course and when possible adapt to their unique needs.
10. Embrace Diversity: Leverage the diverse cultural backgrounds and perspectives of your learners by encouraging them to share insights from their cultural experiences.

To build community in online learning, faculty need to be intentional and adaptable. Faculty who focus on building relationships and creating an inclusive environment create a more supportive and engaging environment for their learners.